Paris Cupcake Wars: Sugar Daze

The moment has finally arrived. The moment when I review the cupcake shop to end all cupcake shops in Paris. The one everyone told me about, from a comment on of of my earlier cupcake posts, here, to an article written by MammaExpat over at HJ Underway, here, to recommendations I received via twitter: Sugar Daze was the must-try bakery on my list. Now it’s time to reveal whether or not the shop is worth all the buzz…

At first glance: The first few times I walked past Sugar Daze I actually didn’t notice it. It was only when I was on a mission to find the shop that I realized I had walked down that same street several times, since my doctor was located around the corner. “How could I have missed a cupcake shop?” I had asked myself as Frog Prince and I turned onto the familiar street. It even has a colorful awning and a lovely glass window displaying some delectable treats that looked more than tempting.

At second glance: Once I finally stepped inside, the overly-commercial decor of the other shops I’ve visited yielded to a simple, relatively white-walled setting… which didn’t hold my attention for more than two seconds in light of the cupcakes on display.

Look at these beauties! Don’t they just make your mouth water?

At first bite: As with Daisy Miller’s, I knew before taking a bite what the experience would be like. Except in this case, I was expecting, and experienced, opposite results. I went immediately for I Love Rock N’ Roll, with it’s hand-crafted sugar guitar sitting atop the perfect amount of frosting. The frosting was sublime, and the cake was perfectly moist and well-flavored (which says a lot since they had been refrigerated after buying them the day before). At Sugar Daze, Cat makes full-sized cupcakes (not those little mini ones the Parisians try to pass off as cupcakes), so we each selected a different cupcake, cut it in quarters, and shared. I can say that the second, third and fourth bites were also exquisite.

Amazing cake, perfect frosting, and a hidden surprise?! A trifecta of tastiness!

Overall: Again, I don’t pay much attention to pricing, but I can say that Sugar Daze has the best-tasting cupcakes so far (and perhaps in all of Paris), and they offer full-sized cupcakes, so the price is probably higher per cupcake but not by weight, and for good reason. Not only is the size and taste enough to make these cupcakes worth the money, but the time spent on making each one look uniquely perfect is a rare thing in the cupcake world, rendering each one worth its weight in gold. Oh, and did I mention how fresh they were? Yeah, the list keeps going…

It’s almost like I don’t even need to say this last part, but for the sake of consistency: DEFINITELY GO to Sugar Daze if you’re in Paris and craving a cupcake. You won’t be disappointed! 🙂